2024 Updates: Twitch, TikTok, YouTube, X, Kick & a New Platform Skara

Twitch Renames its Partner Plus Program and Announces 60/40 Revenue Split

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The platform that made changes in its partner program last year is set to bring another change this year in the program. Twitch has introduced a new tier 60/40 revenue split. Streamers who maintain 100 Plus Points for three consecutive months will qualify for 60/40 net revenue on paid and gift subscriptions to their channel. The platform has also reduced the plus point threshold from 350 to 300 points to the 70/30 revenue split and will allow affiliate streamers to qualify for the program. Furthermore, the Partner Plus program will be renamed to the Plus program in May 2024. With a lower Plus Point threshold and the extension of benefits to affiliates, more creators will have the opportunity to earn a higher percentage of revenue from subscriptions and gifts. 

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Dan Clancy, CEO of Twitch announced that the discovery feed, previously offered to a limited audience, will be available to all creators in the coming weeks. This feature, inspired by TikTok's vertical format, allows users to consume content vertically. While introducing this feature earlier might have been useful, Twitch now faces a challenge in standing out from competitors like TikTok, where gamers have already established themselves with vertical content.

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Clancy also announced that it would redesign its mobile app for a better viewing experience and optimize features like subscriptions, gifts, and bits for mobile users. It also aims to bring new sponsorship opportunities for creators. That’s not it, Twitch aims to increase the pricing of Tier 1 subs in selected countries. It is also revamping its Guest Star feature known as ‘’stream together’’ allowing creators to broadcast live streams together. Twitch will host Twitchcon this year from 29 June to 1 July in Rotterdam and we are hoping that there are going to be a few new announcements.

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Kick is Live With its Creator Incentive Program 

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Kick, the platform that has attracted some of the biggest streamers from Twitch, announced its Creator Incentive Program last year. The Program allowed creators to keep 95% of the revenue they earned from subscriptions. This year Kick has made this program live, making it available to all creators. 

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To get into this program, a creator must have a minimum average of 100 live concurrent viewership in the past 30 days, 500 unique chatters [ Chatters are those individuals who participate in the chat room during live streaming] in the last 30 days. The creator also needs to stream for 50 hours and 15 unique days for the past 30 days. They also need to have a minimum of 25 direct subscribers in the past 30 days, 3 VOD’s in the past 30 days and at least 15000 followers. On top of this, you must abide by the Kick’s policy and guidelines, your channel must be verified and you must also set up your profile and add the necessary social links and “About’’ section before getting into the Program. 

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By providing a high revenue split, Kick is positioning itself as a powerful rival to other streaming companies. With a good percentage of shares given to streamers, they will likely have more resources to expand their channels, draw new viewers, and create a community of loyal followers. This may attract more creators to the platform overall and help them establish themselves as the no.1 Live streaming platform, leaving behind Twitch.

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X is All Set To Launch it’s Streaming Service in Samsung and Smart TV 

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Elon Musk will roll out streaming services for Amazon and Samsung Smart TV. The idea behind this is pretty straightforward - first, Musk is attempting to position itself as a competitor to Google-owned YouTube TV and second his vision is to get users to watch long-form videos on the big screen. He is also planning to get advertisers to run their ads alongside those creators who are not putting up any controversial or offensive content. He is even appealing to other creators to migrate their content entirely to X. Requesting creators to migrate their entire content to X could be risky if the platform doesn't gain traction. 

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However, X’s streaming service is new in the market and we cannot predict how it will work out in the near future. 

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TikTok Announces Major Updates During “ For Creators: Format Summit” 

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TikTok announced several updates in its summit that was held in the U.S.  The major change included renaming the Tik-Tok creativity program to the Tik-tok rewards program and moving away from the beta stage in the coming weeks. This program will reward creators for producing high-quality, original video content based on 4 parameters - originality, play duration, search value, and audience engagement.

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In addition to this, TikTok also revamped its monetization strategy by extending subscriptions to non-live streamers that were previously available to live-streamers. This change will initially be available to invite-only creators. However, in the upcoming weeks every creator can monetize their content through subscriptions.  

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This is not it, it made a third big announcement by rebranding Creator Portal to Creator Academy. This academy will feature educational content and will include blogs, videos, articles, updates, and additional guidance that will support creators in their TikTok journey. As these updates will roll out in the coming week, you will have to wait to test these features out. 

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Overall, with these new features, TikTok is bringing new changes to its platform to support creators. By offering clearer reward structures, expanding monetization options, and providing educational resources, TikTok is definitely on the right path to empower creators.  

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A New Platform Skara - 100% Made For Creators 

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Skara is relatively different from what these platforms are. Unlike these video-sharing platforms, Skara is a platform that helps you build your branded video-on-demand/ OTT app and website. 

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But what stands the same is that all of these platforms are creator-centric. However, there are reasons why Skara can be more beneficial -

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1. You keep 100% of your revenue - If you look at it, every platform takes a percentage of the money that you make. Let’s look at the numbers - 

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• Twitch - 70/30 revenue split where 70% of it belongs to creators and the rest 30% to the platform. It also has a stricter threshold that every creator needs to achieve to be able to earn from ads or subscriptions. 

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• YouTube - 55/45 revenue split where creators typically earn around 55% of the advertising revenue, while YouTube retains the remaining 45%. It’s important to note that this is for long-form videos and the money earned through ads. To earn from ads, creators have to fulfil the threshold of 1000 subscribers, 4000 watch hours in long videos, and 10 million views on shorts in the last 90 days, which is a huge number.  

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You will notice this stricter eligibility and split in almost all platforms. 

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How is Skara different - 

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With Skara, you keep the entire share of what your audience pays, and on top of that, you don’t have to fulfil any criteria to set up your video-on-demand platform. Creators using Skara set their prices for their content, which helps them retain 100% of their earnings.

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2. Subscription over Ads - According to a 2019 Edelman study, three out of every four consumers disregard ads and 47% of people have modified their media habits to see fewer of them, while others use ad blockers to avoid them entirely. Ads can also be intrusive and lengthy, disrupting a viewer's viewing experience. We focused on this aspect and then launched Subscriptions as a way for video creators to monetize on Skara. Skara can also be an additional source of income where you can offer your exclusive content while earning from ads on other platforms. This will help you build a stronger community and loyal audience who are willing to pay for your content. 

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Our platform is cost-effective as compared to what others are offering.   

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3. Build your Brand - If we look at the cost of building a white-label OTT platform from scratch it is high. Then there’s the maintenance cost, bandwidth, storage and whatnot. These costs are major entry barriers for creators who might not be willing to spend so much, especially, when experimenting the product-market fit of such a product for their viewers. With Skara, you can instantly create your white-label branded OTT video streaming app free of cost. You can customise your app and website to reflect your brand identity and forget about maintaining your system. The team at Skara ensures the video streaming websites built using Skara are running at all times, while creators can focus on what they do best: creating exciting content.

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So, Skara is a cost-effective solution for creators with a set of loyal audiences willing to pay for their content. It also gives the creators the freedom to create any content they wish, without worrying about regulations otherwise imposed by social media/video-sharing platforms. 

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Final Thoughts 

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Now that you know about the biggest update these video platforms will undergo in the year 2024, it’s time to put your knowledge to its best. 

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If live streaming is something that you love, Twitch and Kick might be the perfect platform for you, or if you are passionate about starting your channel from scratch, YouTube might be a good choice. Then there are platforms like Skara that help you to launch your white-label OTT/ VOD app+website where you have 100% control over your revenue. 

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Ultimately the choice of the best platform depends on your requirements. So, understanding these updates is key to making a good choice. 

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Curious to learn more about our services - Get in touch with us today. 

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